This invention relates in general to therapeutic exercise putties and more particularly to an exercise putty kit and related methods, whereby a user can increase or decrease the level of stiffness in exercise putty without affecting the physical texture, release or color of the exercise putty.
Borosiloxanes are a class of compounds which are chain-extending reaction products of polysiloxanes and boron containing compounds such as trimethyl boroxane, pyroboric acid, boric anhydride, ethyl borate, esters of boric acid and others. Their formulation is well known, and is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,541,851 (Wright). Borosiloxanes exhibit a resistance to deforming force which is proportional to the force applied to them. In the vernacular they are often called “bouncing putties.” This resistant property makes them useful as an exercise putty for use in exercise or physical therapy, where development of enhanced dexterity, range of motion, and/or strength of the hands is desired.
A variety of exercise putties exist in the marketplace. They are available in a pre-determined hardness or offer the ability to harden the putty by integrating it with a secondary borosiloxane or polyorganosiloxane mass of a much higher stiffness. There are four problems known to the inventor regarding existing systems.
First, users have been unable to increase the stiffness of a primary mass of putty without dramatically altering the total weight of the primary mass. Significant alteration in the weight of the primary mass changes the way in which the primary mass is gripped by the hand and can negatively impact the effect of the therapeutic regimen, mask improvements in muscle strength, or provide additional stress to tendons, ligaments and other structural elements of the hand.
Second, because existing secondary masses achieve their hardening effect by averaging their own hardness with the hardness of the primary mass, there is a limit to the maximum hardness which can be achieved. The secondary mass may need to be so hard that the user is unable to integrate it into the primary mass without significant fatigue. If the user has sustained an injury for which the use of this product is proscribed, attempting to integrate an extremely hard secondary mass increases the chances of further injury during the integration process.
Third, because the secondary masses of previous inventions comprise a significant percentage by weight of the combined mass, the addition of a secondary mass will dramatically alter the color and potentially the texture and release properties of the primary mass. Following this, it is infeasible for manufacturers to market their exercise putties based on color or visual appearance due to the impracticality of stocking a wide variety of colors and corresponding wide variety of color-matched hardener and softener. This prevents the user from selecting exercise putty based on color, or other aesthetic criteria, which offers an additional psychological benefit to the therapeutic exercise regimen.
Fourth, users have been unable to soften a primary mass of putty after it has been hardened and determined that the primary mass is now too stiff for a successful therapeutic exercise regimen without dramatically altering the total weight of the primary mass or negatively affecting its color or physical properties.
It is therefore desired to provide an exercise putty kit and related methods whereby a user may introduce an additive to a primary mass of putty, resulting in a combined mass. The additive may be a hardening agent or a softening agent. If a hardening agent is introduced, the combined mass would be of noticeably increased stiffness relative to the original primary mass, yet the combined mass would be substantially unaltered relative to the original primary mass in terms of total weight, color, appearance, release or other characteristics. Alternatively, if a softening agent is introduced, the combined mass would be of noticeably decreased stiffness relative to the original primary mass, yet the combined mass would be substantially unaltered relative to the original primary mass in terms of total weight, color, appearance, release or other characteristics. Further introduction of additive to an already combined mass should noticeably alter the stiffness of the combined mass, again without substantially altering its total weight, color, appearance, release or other characteristics. Accordingly, a user would be able to noticeably soften a primary mass or previously hardened mass without substantially altering other characteristics of the combined mass. Likewise, a user would be able to noticeably harden a primary mass or previously softened mass without substantially altering other characteristics of the combined mass.
It is further desired to provide an exercise putty kit and related methods whereby a user may achieve a stiffness that was previously commercially unavailable in therapeutic or strength-building putties. It is even further desired to enable a user to select a resistance-modifiable putty based on visual and aesthetic criteria knowing that modifying the stiffness of the product will not alter the total weight, color, appearance, release or other characteristics of the primary mass.